Danny and Nicky Cowley honoured at Lincoln graduation ceremony

A 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to administer them at a Lincoln night club.

Police arrested the 35-year-old in the early hours of Friday morning after “swift and proactive” work in partnership with staff at a nightclub in the city, officers and CCTV teams.

The man was arrested on suspicion of drug possession with intent to administer them, in light of recent drink spiking incidents in the city.

The issue of drink spiking has become more rife in recent weeks, with four cases in Lincoln reported to police in October alone.

It has sparked outrage, with a boycott of nightclubs and bars planned on Wednesday, October 27 to raise awareness of the issue.

Marc Jones, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said the arrest was ‘superb’ and should send a ‘huge signal’ to any would be criminals.

A man from Lincolnshire has been given an award by police for his bravery after saving a teenage boy’s life as he talked him down from the edge of a bridge during lockdown.

Matthew Taylor, from Welbourn, was riding his bike home from work in Fulbeck when he saw a young man on the outside of the protective barriers of a bridge over the A17 on July 29, 2020.

He immediately became concerned and approached the boy to engage in conversation with him. After a while he managed to coax the boy to safety and chatted with him a bit more until the young man said he was okay to travel home.

The incident happened during national coronavirus lockdown while the streets were quiet, meaning there was a limited number of passers-by who could help the distressed boy.

Matthew said that the barriers were high enough to prevent someone falling over the side, meaning that him being stood on the wrong side could only have been intentional.

He told Lincolnshire Police: “I knew that there wouldn’t be anyone coming past who would see him because of the location, and I just felt that I had to stop.

“I said, ‘Hey, you don’t want to be on that side, come on let’s talk’, and eventually he came back to the safe side and sat with me. We talked for a while, and eventually he was okay and took his own bike home.

“I was able to track down his mum and called her to let her know what had happened, which was a difficult call to make.”

Later that day Matthew was contacted by the boy’s mother and father, who said they were eternally grateful for his act of kindness.

He was nominated for an award with the police and has been awarded the Area Commander’s Certificate of Commendation, given to members of the public who show courage and bravery.

The award was presented at the police’s Blue Lights Campus on South Park in Lincoln this week. Matthew was present with his wife and children and was presented with a certificate as well as a police mascot cuddly toy dog.

Chief Superintendent Jon McAdam said: “This award is in recognition of Matthew’s outstanding humanity and public spirit whilst cycling home from work.

“Matthew observed a young man standing on the wrong side of the barrier of a bridge spanning the A17. He stopped at the scene in order to engage with the vulnerable individual and successfully persuaded the teenager to move to safety. Matthew then took it upon himself to make contact with the parents in order to alert them to the incident.

“His intervention meant that the situation didn’t escalate into one which needed the police or other emergency services. Without his intervention, this could have been a very different outcome.”

“Harassing women on a night out has to stop”. That is the key message from bars and nightclubs in Lincoln as they seek to put a halt to drink spiking in the city, amid rumours of a venue boycott next week.

Recent reports of drink spiking have prompted a social media campaign for women to boycott the nightlife industry on Wednesday, October 27 to raise awareness and ask for change.

Girls Night In Lincoln is a local Instagram account that has joined in with nationwide calls for the boycott, sharing stories from anonymous people who believe they were spiked or sexually assaulted when on nights out in the city.

It comes as Lincolnshire Police confirmed it would be investigating reports of drink spiking in Lincoln city centre, after three women were reported to have been unwell after having a drink in a bar on Friday, October 8.

Police said on Thursday, October 21 that four cases of drink spiking in the Lincoln area had been reported so far this month, none of which involved injection via a needle.

The Lincolnite has reached out to major nightlife venues across the city to find out what measures are in place should people feel unsafe or at risk of being spiked. Here is what they had to say:

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Home, Bierkeller, Craft & Carousel

Home nightclub has utilised a number of anti-drink spiking procedures for some time now, and wanted to reassure customers that there are plenty of things you can do if you suspect something has happened on a night out.

David Nejrup, operations manager at Home and sister businesses Carousel, Craft, Bierkeller, The Curiosity Shop and Void, has said systems have been reviewed following various reports of drink spiking.

He told The Lincolnite: “In our venues, our guests’ safety and wellbeing is paramount, it’s our number one priority. With recent reports on social media and on the news, locally and nationally of drinks being allegedly spiked we have pro-actively reviewed and enhanced our systems and procedures regarding guest safety and welfare.

“We have, for some time had the ability to test drinks instantly for any substances, if a guest is concerned or suspects a drink has been tampered with. We have various devices available on request at each of our bars that enable individuals to cover the tops of drinks.

“These include foil top stickers that cover the top of the whole drink and allow for a straw to be pierced through. We also have an equipped first aid and welfare room.”

As well as this, a fully qualified medic is on site at all times, increased signage and social media campaigns have been introduced to spread awareness of safety, and search procedures have been enhanced.

Mr Nejrup continued: “Our wider bar teams are also trained and well versed in removing any unattended drinks, looking out for any suspicious activity in our venue and in welfare campaigns such as Ask For Angela.”

Ask for Angela is a campaign that was started by Lincolnshire County Council in 2016, encouraging anyone who felt unsafe or vulnerable at a venue to use a codeword which would alert members of staff.

It began in Lincolnshire and was eventually rolled out across the country, most recently becoming endorsed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the Metropolitan Police in light of the tragic death of Sarah Everard.

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The Strait and Narrow

The Strait and Narrow in Lincoln was actually the first bar in the world to adopt the Ask for Angela scheme, and prides itself on keeping incidents of this kind to a minimum.

Owner Jez Nash has said it is a venue’s responsibility to keep customers safe and that “collectively we have to work our hardest to make sure this is the case.”

He said: “When people go out to a bar or a club they want to relax and have a good time, our responsibility goes beyond just serving them drinks. At The Strait and Narrow we always have a member of management on shift to make sure we know what’s going on in the venue, to make sure everyone’s behaviour is acceptable and that everyone is safe.”

Jez has also stated two solutions that should be brought in across the country to stop these incidents at source.

He continued: “Firstly in the short term, it needs to be stopped from happening and the people attempting to do this need to be caught and passed onto the authorities. We can do this by using the Drink Aware Kits to gather evidence, along with CCTV to make sure that the people responsible are caught and prosecuted and that the potential victims of their behavior are safe.

“Secondly in the long term, we need to educate people that certain types of behaviour isn’t acceptable. I doubt that the people who are attempting to spike drinks have just started doing this. I think it’s likely to be a way down the road from behaviour that started out as being minorly unpleasant and has become more extreme over time.

“That’s why we need to stop enabling the early signs of this. Harassing women on a night out for your own amusement has to stop. If you’re doing it – stop it, if you can’t stop seek help. If your friends are doing it tell them they shouldn’t. ”

Walkabout

Walkabout has also been utilising the Ask for Angela scheme, as well as drink protectors, and they have guest support workers who wear neon armbands to help customers with any concerns they may have.

A spokesperson for Walkabout Lincoln said: “The safety of our guests and our team, has always been, and remains, our number one priority and we continually review our safety and security procedures to ensure our customers and staff remain safe.

“Following the concern over alleged increases in spiking in clubs and bars, we have enhanced our measures to include offering promoting ‘Ask For Angela’, offering drink protectors including Spikeys and Scrunchies, and we also have guest support colleagues available to support any guests that are feeling vulnerable or unwell.

“These team members are easily identifiable, as they wear a neon armband. We have enhanced security checks on our door, and we ask guests remain vigilant and report any unusual or suspicious behaviour to one of our team immediately.”

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Trebles

Ian Hughes, general manager at Trebles, said: “The spiking situation is a concern for everyone involved. However, as a venue, we are working hard to tackle it.

“We are an ‘Ask for Angela’ bar and have been for several years. We also hold drink testing strips, again, something we’ve had for several years. If you are concerned about your drink, we can test it.

“The foil toppers is something we’re looking into as a venue as well as Spikeys (a cap put in bottles to prevent spiking) for bottles.

“If any customer feels unwell, uncomfortable or concerned, please make yourself known to staff, management or doorstaff and we’ll do our upmost to support you.”

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University of Lincoln Students’ Union

The students’ union, which runs Towers, The Swan and The Engine Shed, issued a statement saying it was “committed to prioritising the safety of students” in its venues.

Multiple procedures have been put in place to combat the recent spate of drink spiking, such as offering Spikeys and Nightcaps for any drink ordered from the bar, and delivering a “comprehensive” staff training programme with a focus on venue safety, and searching “as many people as logistically possible”.

The students’ union will also work closely with Lincolnshire Police to aid the reporting of illegal activity. This included authorising drug swabs at the Quack! night during freshers’ week, with names of anyone who failed these passed directly to both the police and the university.

A spokesperson for the SU said: “It is vital that victims of suspected drink spiking within the Engine Shed or any SU venue, report this to security in the first instance, or any member of staff at the event so that we can most effectively deal with it. Prompt reporting is critical to us and the police, in order to effectively gather evidence.”

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Ask for Angela is now a global scheme that was originally set up by Lincolnshire County Council. It encourages people to discreetly ask for help by going to the bar and saying ‘Ask for Angela’.

The Lincolnite has also contacted Fever & Boutique and Sugarcubes for statements, but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.

A Lincoln mum who has been scared of heights for her whole life will face her fear when she takes on a charity skydive next month.

Zoe Sheridon, who works as the activities lead at Tennyson Wharf Care Home near Lincoln, is raising money for mental health charity MIND.

She told The Lincolnite: “I’ve had the fear of heights my whole life. As a child I was petrified of even walking across a small bridge over a pond or the gaps between stairs. The fear is just as bad now.

“I think it is always good to challenge yourself. If you are prepared to face your fears it can inspire others as well. Our residents know how hard these challenges have been for me, and it has inspired them to do more things such as exercise sessions.

“I don’t think anything could prepare me for what is about to come. I am excited and really nervous, but I know the feeling afterwards will be amazing.”

“I know the moment when I’m up there and have to get out will be really hard, but I will focus on the fact it will be over and done with quickly. I want to take in the moment and enjoy the adrenaline rush.”

Zoe, her husband, and children Riley, seven, and Faye, nine, visited Arial Trail in Scunthorpe this summer. She said she spent the whole time “hugging trees and trying not to cry in front of the kids” and the ropes were “shaking so much”.

She added: “With the pandemic there has been so many stories of people who have committed suicide, lost their job and struggled with mental health and being stuck indoors.

“You see so many stories of the people that it has effected and the charity [MIND] is crying out for help and support. There is a waiting list for people to receive that support and it would be good if the support was more readily available, and fundraising can help do that.

“I have always been passionate about doing what I can to help others so even if it can help one person then it will be worth it.”

Zoe is no stranger to charity work after raising £385.50 for Guide Dogs UK when she completed a 24-hour sponsored walk around Burton Waters, Skellingthorpe, Odder and Lincoln, including Steep Hill, with her colleague Dawn Bailey in May this year.

The 29-year-old said she is not physically fit and it took her days to get over the walk in what was “one of the hardest challenges” she’s ever done, but the upcoming charity skydive on November 6 will be even tougher.

Zoe will take on her skydive challenge at Skydive Langar in Nottinghamshire and is hoping to raise £430 for MIND – donate to her fundraiser here.